This invention relates generally to golf putters and, in particular, to a golf putter head which may be customized to meet an individual golfer""s preferences.
Since putting is such a highly individualistic aspect of golf, many configurations of putter heads are available to satisfy the preferences of the individual golfer. Putter head configurations vary significantly and may have some effect on a golfer""s confidence and ability when putting. Prior U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,196 to Busnardo; U.S. Pat. No. 5,437,447 to Rigutto; U.S. Pat. No. 5,230,509 to Chavez; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,275,413 to Sprague disclose two-piece putters which may be customized. The Busnardo and Rigutto patents both disclose specifically configured putter heads with interchangeable face plates for changing the loft angle of the ball striking face. The Chavez and Sprague patents both disclose putter heads with interchangeable rear weights for altering the weight and feel of the putter head. All of these prior putter heads are disclosed as having two pieces formed with substantially planar mating surfaces which provides the assembled putter head with a noticeable parting line between the two pieces. Some golfers find such parting lines objectionable and even distracting when putting.
In accordance with the present invention, a customizable putter head is disclosed. The putter head includes a face member and a back body which may be selected from pluralities of differently configured face members and back bodies. The face member includes a top ledge which extends between toe and heel ends of the face member, and a hosel extends upwardly from the top ledge for receiving one end of a golf shaft. In the preferred embodiment, the face member is formed without the hosel but with a socket formed therein so as to open upwardly onto the top ledge. A plurality of differently configured hosels are provided with each hosel having a depending extension which fits into the socket formed in the face member. When a desired hosel has been selected, a sintering process may be used to secure the hosel and the face member together. The face member has a front surface arranged for striking a golf ball and a rear surface. The top ledge is disposed between the front and rear surfaces. A cavity formed in the rear surface has a recessed bottom surface with the cavity being circumscribed by a rim surface.
The back body has a mating section with a shape which matches the shape of the cavity in the rear surface of the face member so that when the putter is assembled, the mating section of the back body will be disposed within the face member cavity. When the putter head is assembled, an upper edge of the mating section of the back body will be disposed underneath the top ledge of the face member. Therefore, a parting line between the face member and the back body will be concealed by the top ledge of the face member and thus will not be visible from directly above the putter head. The face member and the back body are attached to each other by a pair of screws, and a membrane may be placed in the cavity in the rear surface of the face member between the recessed bottom surface thereof and the mating section of the back body. The membrane is preferably formed of an elastomeric material to dampen vibrations and alter the sound made when a golf ball is struck on the front surface of the face member.